Lubricating oil and lubrication therewith



Fatented @oh 2 1%,, EQEQ hairs stares LUBRICATING OIL AND LUBRICATION THEEREWITH Elmer William Cook, New York, N. Y assignor to Tide Water Associated Oil Company, Bayonne,

N. 3., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application August 13, 1937, Serial No. 158,917

3 Claims.

.This invention relates to lubricants intended for service in the lubrication of internal combustion engines. The invention more particularly is concerned with lubricating or motor oils of mineral hydrocarbon origin which are normally corrosive toward'bearing metal alloys of the character of cadmium-silver, cadmium-nickel or copper-lead, as well as'those bearing metals of exceptionally high lead content (of the order of 75% to 99%) wherein minor proportions of alloying metals impart unusual hardness to the .alloy; and has, for an important objective, the inhibition or prevention of deterioration of such bearing metal in service by the corrosive action of the lubricant thereon.

Engine bearings comprising or surfaced with cadmium-silver, "high-lead or like alloys now are frequently employed in lieu oi the more usual Babbitt metal bearings, in order to cope with extreme service conditions of friction and temperature. These conditions are the consequences of modern developments in internal combustion engines making available high sustained speeds and requiring bearings formed of metals or alloys particular compounds havmg a retarding or inas 5 having greater resistance to wear, and. further characterized by higher melting points necessary to prolonged life under the extreme thermal conditions existing during operation of the engine. Temperatures at the bearing surfaces during operation' are,v or may be, much higher in the case of engines requiring these new bearings than formerly was the circumstance with engines in which Babbitt metal bearings gave satisfactory service.

Experience with bearings of the character or 1 type exemplified by cadmium-silver, cadmium-.

nickel, copper-lead and high-dead alloys has. 7 demonstrated, however, that their utility is greatly impa'ired by an extreme susceptibility to p rapid deterioration by the corrosive action or effect of many available lubricating oils. Particularly has this efi'ect been noted when the oils are of the character generally regarded as superior lubricants by conventional criteria.

Little is known concerning the nature of the corrosive action or its causes; but in general it has been observed that motor oils derived from selected crudes predominantly parafinic in origin, as well as those oils from these or other .crudes which have been improved by treatment with selective solvents, exhibit a marked tendency toward corrosion. of the bearings inquestion, although by other tokens the lubricant is of superior quality. Oxidation stability, as indicated by sludge or acid formation in conventional tests indicative of the tendency toward deterioration of the oil itself in service, does not appear to have reliable correlation with the tendency of the oil to corrode bearing surfaces. It is possible that the high bearing surface tempera- 5 tures existing under service conditions with the new bearings may be a factor in occasioning the observed deleterious efiect of motor oils thereupon. It would appear, also, that the problem of bearing corrosion, with which the present it invention is particularly concerned, contrasts with problems of lubricant deterioration per se, since oils characterized by long life and good stability in conventional tests may, and frequently do, prove to be the most corrosive in it bearing corrosion tests. No theory in explanation of the observed corrosive action or the prevention thereof, as herein proposed according to the invention, is intended to be relied upon.

According to the present invention, it has now an been found that the corrosive efiect of lubricating oils upon bearing surfaces of the character referred to above may be avoided in novel and efiective manner by incorporating with such oils hibiting efiect in respect of such corrosion. More specifically, the invention arises from the discovery that a compound comprising triphenyl stibine effects a very beneficial retardation of the corrosive action of internal combustion en- 80 gine lubricating oils upon cadmium-silver, cadmium-nickel, copper-lead, high-lead and like bearing metal alloys. I f

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to inhibit or retard the corrosive deterioration of these and like bearing metal alloys in automotive service by providing a lubricant therefor comprising a refined mineral hydrocarbon oil having incorporated therewith triphenyl stibine in small but effective propor- 40 tion. 1 Likewise, it is an object of the invention to improve, and to prepare improved, motor oils of petroleum origin by incorporating therein triphenyl stibine in corrosion inhibiting proportions. The provision of an inhibitor eflective 45 for such purpose and comprising a compound as aforementioned naturally is a major objective. Viewed in another aspect, the invention may be regarded as encompassing a novel method of lubricating bearing metal sur ces, of the char- 50 acter of cadmium-silver, dmium-nickel, copper-lead, .high-lead or like alloys, by applying thereto a film of lubricant comprising mineral hydrocarbon oil having incorporated therewith a'small but eifective proportion of triphenyl stibine. With this method of lubrication it has been found that prolonged life and consequent improved service may be attained in the use of these alloys as hearing metals of internal combustion engines, particularly when operating conditions such as high sustained speeds under load occasion unusually high bearing surface temperatures. Ordinarily, the oil selected for use, in applying the lubricating method of the invention to its intended service, will be of a character generally regarded as of superior grade and refining. Thus, the invention finds particular utility in making possible the beneficial use of such oils by avoiding deleterious consequences otherwise encountered when no preventive measures are taken against the corrosive deteriora tion of bearing metal alloys as hereinbefore referred to. It will be understood, however, that the invention contemplates no limitation in this respect, and that the method of lubrication herein described may be practiced in conjunction with mineral hydrocarbon lubricating oils taken as a broad class and regardless of origin.

Triphenyl stibine is a compound conforming to the structural formula.

Solubility in mineral hydrocarbon oil of motor lubricating oil character is limited, but the proportion necessary to accomplish the objects of the present invention is well within the limits of solubility. It sufiices, therefore, simply to dissolve triphenyl stibine (if desired with moderate application of heat to facilitate solution) in motor oil intended for service in internal combustion engines in order to prepare for the lubrication thereof according to the invention. Proportions of 0.2% by weight or less of the inhibitor dissolved in motor oil have proved inhibitive of the corrosion normally attending the use of many lubricating oils with bearing metals of the type comprising cadmium-silver and like alloys. stated percentage is not intended as a limitation upon the contemplated scope and practice of the invention, as obviously the inhibitor may be,

' and is intended to be, employed in any corrosion inhibiting proporton.

The tendency of motor oils to corrode bearings of the character in question may be determined by a convenient test which affords a ready method of obtaining a. comparative evalulation of mo-' tor oils in the laboratory. In this test method a group of bearings, ordinarily including at least one each of several of the newer bearing metal alloys (viz: cadmium-silver, cadmium-nickel and copper-lead) is supported in a chamber in which air may circulate and the bearing surfaces are exposed for aperiod of 22 hours to a stream of oil sprayed under pressure continuously upon the corrodible area. The oil is maintained at a temperature of approximately 335 F. and the spray is so directed as to' disperse the oil over the surfaces of the bearings. Means are provided for re-circulating the sprayed oil so that a given I The quantity is used for a given test, thus simulating service conditions in an engine. The measure of corrosion is taken as the loss in weight of the bearing per unit of exposed corrodible surface.

The test method described above is carried outin the familiar Underwood corrosion apparatus supplied by the Scientific Instrument Company of Detroit, Michigan, in accordance with General Motors specifications.

Results obtained utilizing the foregoing test for comparative evaluation of motor oils with and without an inhibitor according to the invention provide specific illustration of the value and inhibiting effectiveness of triphenyl stibine. The oil used for the test was an S. A. E. 20 motor oil comprising a blend of well refined parafilnic base stocks and having an A. P. I. gravity of 30.1, Saybolt viscosity 100 F. of about 300 seconds,

Saybolt viscosity 210 F. of 54 seconds and flash point of 425 F. Inhibitor, when added, was used in an amount of 0.2% by weight based on the oil. During each run cadmium-silver, cadmium-nickel and copper-lead bearings all were present; and comparative losses in weight per While the utility of the invention has been illustrated specifically with reference to a particular motor oil, no limitation is to be inferred therefrom, and other oils, whether or not comparable in specification or origin, may be used in the lubrication of bearings of the type described in accordance with the invention.

I claim:

1. The method of lubricating bearings having substantially the corrosion susceptibility characterizing cadmium-silver, cadmium-nickel and copper-lead alloys, which consists in applying to the bearing surfaces lubricant comprising mineral hydrocarbon oil normally tending to corrode said surfaces and having incorporated therein corrosion inhibiting proportions of triphenyl stibine.

2. The method of lubricating bearing surfaces in internal combustion engines, which bearing surfaces have substantially the corrosion susceptibility characterizing cadnriumsilver,fcadmium-nickel and copper-lead alloys, which consists in applying to .said bearing surfaces lubricant comprising mineral hydrocarbon oil normally tending to corrode said surfaces and having incorporated therein corrosion inhibiting proportions of triphenyl stibine.

3. In the lubrication of bearing surfaces having substantially the corrosion susceptibility characterizing cadmium-silver, cadmium-nickel and copper-lead alloys, with mineral hydrocarbon oil normally tending to cause substantial and rapid corrosion thereof, the method of inhibiting such corrosion, which comprises incorporating with said oil corrosion inhibiting proportions of triphenyl stibine.

ELMER WILLIAM 000K. 

